"We don't hold a monopoly on new ideas."

How has the recession affected how big agencies view sponsorship? What is a PR firm's take on the current perception issues facing the idea of sponsorship? How do sponsorship proposals navigate through a big agency to find the account decision-maker? Mark Harmsen, the newest member of the SponsorPitch team, recently hit the streets to find out what's on the mind of Samantha Lucas, Chair of U.S. Brand Marketing at Burson-Marsteller. Lucas says that Burson-Marsteller welcomes new client ideas with open arms, but gives a couple tips when pitching new partnerships to the agency.

To give you a taste of one of the weekly benefits you'll be able to get with Premium Pitch membership, we're giving this posting this BrandCast here for anyone to view. Check it out, along with more interviews with the leading sponsorship buyers in the world:

.

You'll be seeing more of Mark. He's a former TV sports anchor, a Columbia Sports Management student and future sponsorship sales executive. We originally got the idea for BrandCast from an appearance we made on StartupLucky.com and thought, rather than listening to us ramble on about sponsorships all day long, we'd give you the chance to hear it straight from the foremost buyers in the sponsorship industry. The decision-makers that hold the sponsorship purse strings for the world's largest brands. Through BrandCast, we'll also give you a chance to ask interview questions and comment after the fact on what they have to say.

If you haven't seen our new BrandCast section, please take the time to go check it out and sign-up for Premium Pitch, a monthly membership that will give sponsorship sellers access to BrandCast and many other benefits.